Trade ministers from the G20 countries met in Indonesia from Wednesday 21 to Friday 23 September. The majority of participants agreed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the biggest threat to world trade today. However, the consensus rule prevented members from adopting a joint statement reflecting this position. Russia is indeed part of the G20, as is China.
The Indonesian G20 Presidency has committed to issuing a statement summarising the issues covered and the position of most countries on the war in Ukraine. The statement issued by Indonesia on 22 September did not yet mention the war in Ukraine.
The participants worked on the following topics: - the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO); - the role of the multilateral trading system in strengthening the Sustainable Development Goals; - trade and investment responses to the pandemic; - digital trade and global value chains; - strengthening sustainable investment; - coherence between trade, investment and industry. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)